1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to control technology for a network device compliant with network plug-and-play.
2. Description of the Related Art
Plug-and-play is a well-known technology that enables peripheral devices to be connected to a computer or disconnected from a computer at arbitrary timing after computer startup. In recent years, extension of plug-and-play technology to networks has led the development of Universal Plug and Play (hereinafter UPnP; UPnP is a trademark of UPnP Implementers Corporation). The use of UPnP enables network devices to be connected to a network or disconnected from the network at arbitrary timing. Herein, the architecture for realizing such plug-and-play capability in a network will be termed “network plug-and-play” in this specification.
UPnP compliant network devices are able to function as service devices of various kinds. Here, “service device” refers to a device for executing a particular service in response to an external request. Service devices can be realized as devices of various kinds, such as a printer, scanner, fax, copier, memory device, camera, clock or the like. It is also possible for the functions of several service devices to be realized by a single device.
In this way, UPnP compliant network devices can take a variety of forms. A problem, however, is that controlling such network devices can easily become complicated.